Nightmares and why I am up at 5:45 am on a weekend

[RobCoxxy]

I haven't dreamt in months. I used to be able to lucid dream. Which made zombie dreams amazing. But I haven't had nightmares since I was about six.... although if you want terrifying night stuff, in accomodation last year, the girl in the room above me would cry all night. And it kept me awake because it was fucking creepy. Not to mention I thought it was in my head.

I lost so much sleep, I should have just gone up and cheered her up. :L

 

[alfawx]

One of the creepiest I can remember was being pinned down by a 10 foot long wasp and having it eat my left eye while it was still in my head and I was conscious. I believe I've had some worse ones, but that's the only one I can remember that was really bad as of now.

 

[Red Right Hand]

Don't know because I never remember my dreams or nightmares.

It's pretty sweet.

 

[Cpu46]

le snip

Now I'm not too keen on the "universal symbols" theories that spout compact answers for deciphering dreams. Every psyche grows its own meanings, though some are relative to culture. Nor should I read too much into the dream of a stranger online, but...heck, I want to

What I find interesting is *why* you end up swimming with the sharks. You're in a boat with drunk teenagers, and I gather you find that unpleasant to begin with. Who are those teens? Random constructs, roommates, people you meet every day?
Suppose you're nervous because you feel the people surrounding you are not as trustworthy as they should be. Or maybe you worry you're not mature enough yourself, and that it's bound to bite you in the ass. Just my two cents

In the dream I didn't know the people, except for one who was swimming out in the water far away from the boat and the sharks. On the boat I was trying to be the voice of reason, nobody else seemed to notice the sharks except for me. Then out of nowhere everyone was gone, the person out in the water included, as well as the boat and I was in the water with the sharks.

Eh, take what you will from that, I have my own theories.

 

[ryai458]

I don't dream so no nightmares, works for me.

 

[Droppa Deuce]

My nightmares are afrid of me

 

[Cpu46]

-snip-

But sharks are so friendly and misunderstood! Sharks don't eat humans and are normally very timid. They even play with dolphins!

Yes but try telling my subconscious that. Truth be told the reason I fear sharks so much is because my imagination doesn't need to strain itself to make them scary. I know that I am more likely to be killed by lightning and whatnot but I would rather stand out in a thunderstorm with a 30 foot lightning rod than tread water in the ocean.
Sharks hunt lightning doesn't.

I see what you mean. You seem to have a psychodynamic perspective of your subconscious. Technically, i think this could be called a phobia, and therefor, a more suitable perspective would be the behavioristic perspective. Do you remember having some kind of childhood experience related to water or sharks or something of the like that could have triggered this?

Okay, maybe that hypothesis is understood, and perhaps you've already answered this question and I've missed it, but well eh yeah.

When I fear something I try my best to understand it. This is how I got rid of my fear of the dark, large dogs, spiders, ghosts, ect. When I researched sharks however all I learned is that they are less likely to bite your leg off then you think but perfectly capable of doing so, oh and the more aggressive types actually live in fresh water. I think it's less of a phobia, I mean it doesn't keep me from getting into the water, and more of a healthy respect blown out of proportion by my overactive imagination.

 

[dancinginfernal]

A month or two ago I had a nightmare again for the first time in a couple years. Used to have them all the time when I was a kid because I was always too curious to keep my nose out of horror movies but that's a different story.

I don't recall the start, but I do remember why it horrified me. Eventually the dream had gone to a place I didn't recognize, which was this massive cathedral, but with a rather macabre theme to it. I don't mean dead bodies littered everywhere, but more of a place where you could accidentally impale yourself by leaning on it, which was playing off my fear of the dark and gore. Anyways, there was a slow descending view on the chapel that eventually fell onto me. I then snapped out of third person and slowly walked down the steps towards the entrance. I was horrified, but dream me looked fine and went on resolutely.

When I get inside, the place is...disturbing. I see bodies all over, but not in such a horrifying way just because their dead. This part disturbed me because I read them as "ended" not dead. Another life left alone, a thought abandoned, and love dissolved. I saw their lives and how they lived happily through them, and how their families just up and forgot about them within the year of their death. Such good people deserved better. Eventually I approached the altar.

On it was...nothing. But as soon as I touched it I was jerked back outside looking up at the spire atop the cathedral. Standing on top of the spire on a jagged edge was a robed figure. It immediately flashed in front of me, and I could see its mouth sewn shut. Violently. It pulled down the hood, and even its eyes and ears were sewn. This played on my fear of recognition, that I'll never make a legitimate impact on the world and that fear that my life is pointless unless I manage something important. Anyways, the figure stares at me...kind of. Eyes sewn and all that, when he grabs his bottom and upper lips and starts forcing them open pulling out the stitches all at once. His lips tear along with the stitches and it's just horribly gruesome.

He doesn't stop there, and keeps pulling until the top half of his head is clear off. That's when my dad wakes me up to get in the shower (we were about to go on a trip to Rhode Island). Intense shit man, I don't remember having any dream that horrifying in my life.

 

[Vakz]

I remember dreaming of falling down the stairs when I was like.. 5 or 6 maybe, and the memory of it still flashes in my head whenever I'm walking down some stairs. Really disturbing. Whenever I have nightmares now, I still do occasionally wake up from them, but I rarely remember them. The few times I do, it's just that last second before waking up.

 

[CarlMin]

-snip-

But sharks are so friendly and misunderstood! Sharks don't eat humans and are normally very timid. They even play with dolphins!

Yes but try telling my subconscious that. Truth be told the reason I fear sharks so much is because my imagination doesn't need to strain itself to make them scary. I know that I am more likely to be killed by lightning and whatnot but I would rather stand out in a thunderstorm with a 30 foot lightning rod than tread water in the ocean.
Sharks hunt lightning doesn't.

I see what you mean. You seem to have a psychodynamic perspective of your subconscious. Technically, i think this could be called a phobia, and therefor, a more suitable perspective would be the behavioristic perspective. Do you remember having some kind of childhood experience related to water or sharks or something of the like that could have triggered this?

Okay, maybe that hypothesis is understood, and perhaps you've already answered this question and I've missed it, but well eh yeah.

When I fear something I try my best to understand it. This is how I got rid of my fear of the dark, large dogs, spiders, ghosts, ect. When I researched sharks however all I learned is that they are less likely to bite your leg off then you think but perfectly capable of doing so, oh and the more aggressive types actually live in fresh water. I think it's less of a phobia, I mean it doesn't keep me from getting into the water, and more of a healthy respect blown out of proportion by my overactive imagination.

A phobia doesn't have to be a reaction to a situation or object. I can very well be a result of anxiety disorder. And if this fear actually gives you constant nightmares than perhaps you might have some slight anxiety disorder. Whatever it is, it can probably be cured in no time with cognitive behavioral therapy.

PS. Did you see you fear large dogs? Dogs that are so lovely.

 

[-Samurai-]

I can't remember the last time I had a nightmare.

However, there is this dream I have about twice a year where I'm standing on a small platform, and I can't see more than 5 feet away from me because everything around me is pure black. Directly in front of me is a river or stream of water, always moving from right to left, and the water is so black that I don't cast a reflection. In the water is all sorts of debris. Things that don't float are floating by. Brick walls, couches, bathtubs. Book shelves, books, eating utensils. Random debris. I watch it for about 5 minutes, then I wake up feeling weird and alone.

I rarely remember my dreams, but that one sticks with me every time.

 

[Skorpyo]

My nightmares usually involve an "Aliens" type situation, except everything is quiet, I'm alone, and I'm usually armed with nothing more than a pocket knife.

I've actually survived a couple of times...

 

[Cpu46]

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A phobia doesn't have to be a reaction to a situation or object. I can very well be a result of anxiety disorder. And if this fear actually gives you constant nightmares than perhaps you might have some slight anxiety disorder. Whatever it is, it can probably be cured in no time with cognitive behavioral therapy.

PS. Did you see you fear large dogs? Dogs that are so lovely.

Nah, I hardly ever have nightmares which is why I posted the fact that I did have one here.

And I used to be afraid of large dogs. Now I find them lovely as well.

 

[Ruzzian Roulette]

IGNORE THIS POST. I posted on my brother's account by accident. Sorry!

 

[Rooster893]

Majora's Mask. THAT GOD DAMN MOON.

Well, there goes my good night's sleep.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

Gonna post my own experiences in a bit. Want to get more work done first. But I just want to respond to someone, and also to say to the OP that I've been in that situation before. It's not fun. >_<

The moment I recognize I'm in a dream and 'it' is coming I freak the hell out and try to run (quite hard in a dream, as we all know) but eventually it finds me.

Ok, here's a tip from someone who has gotten a lot of experience manipulating dreams. If you know you are in a dream and you realize that it's going to become a nightmare, try this: keep your mind blank (or think of something nice), stand on your tiptoes and spin like you're a spinning top or a tornado until everything is a blur. Keep your mind blank. Then eventually stop spinning. This should "randomize" your dream completely.

I've tried it before and it works. The basic logic is that in dreams you can only keep track of things that you're either thinking of, or looking at. So if you blank out your mind, and make everything into a blur of motion, your mind will not be able to keep track of the dream and will be forced to randomize itself. The only hard part is remembering to do this trick.

Good luck!

EDIT: Also, I've been in your situation too. When my "dream nemesis" or related things show up...As awesome as I can be in dreams, I usually find myself totally helpless and unable to fight back. And then I'm screwed. It really sucks to be in that situation.

 

[McNinja]

The last time I had a nightmare was when I was six. However, the last dream I had that gave me the creeps involved green alligators turning into people, a massive pink alligator that turned into the Iron Giant (or the robot from the Iron Giant), then it stomped the place where I work, and then an old lady pulled a Jason mask over her face whilst starting creepily out a window.

My dreams can be very weird sometimes. But I generally do not have nightmares.

 

[Blue Musician]

The last nightmare I had involved a shootout between drug dealers and police, and I was in middle of the crossfire.
I remember the screams, the blood, the deaths...

All of this seemed so real, I didn't knew it was a dream. It seemed like my reality.

 

[Shadie777]

The last and probably worst nightmare scenario appened a couple of months ago.

I was basically dreaming about the bloody apocalypse. Buildings were falling, the sky was a horrible shade of red. Not really the best thing you see before you wake up.